Portals: People, Processes and Technology

Citation

Law, D. (2007), "Portals: People, Processes and Technology", Library Review, Vol. 56 No. 7, pp. 626-627. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530710776033

Andrew Cox is well known for his work on communities of practice and knowledge management. He is then well equipped to pull together an eclectic collection of pieces which aim to give an overview of current portal services and their prospects for the future. Definitions are given, models described and examples proffered.

The 17 chapters are divided into five sections, each section with a short but pithy introduction. Although most contributors are based in or linked to UK Higher Education, they have a broad and varied base of experience ranging from the postgraduate to the recently retired, with a sprinkling of consultants, overseas experts and private sector workers. The first section covers core themes from definitions and needs analysis to managing such services; the second has three papers on library portals; the third and fourth describe portals in the corporate and public sectors, respectively, while the final section considers the future.

Rather than attempting to instruct authors to use a template or edit contributions into one, the editor has wisely chosen the much speedier option of allowing each chapter to look and sound different, reflecting the author's individual style, then using the section introduction to point to the linkages and fill any gaps. This can cause a feeling of discontinuity in places, but is not a major issue, when taken with the section introductions. Inevitably some chapters are richer than others, some more descriptive and some relying heavily on bullet‐pointed lists.

Although the subject of portals remains fuzzy and ill‐defined even after reading the book, this is a useful and rewarding read for information professionals. It is generally well written with a good flow and a judicious mix of the technical, the cultural and the political. There is a good balance of examples, survey reports, opinion and the sort of chunky facts which can usefully be plagiarised for internal reports.

The only real comment rather than criticism lies in the nature of the edited monograph and the inevitable delay between writing and publication. Although there is a short introduction to the final section on “the future”, there is no concluding wrap‐up chapter and as a result the book rather peters out. The final chapter is a few brief pages on Web 2.0, which although perfectly adequate (and notably well referenced!) already seems overtaken by the pace of change in the whole social networking arena.

Finally, and partly since it remains sadly untrue generally, it is worth remarking on the high design and production values of the book. The book is also rich in diagrams and screen dumps. This can cause problems when the absence of colour diminishes legibility. In this case all images work well and are clearly legible in black and white. The publisher – Facet – is going through a period when its products are of uniformly high quality. Long may this continue. It does make a difference to the reader's approach when the book both looks and feels good.